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Apheresis: A potent therapeutic in extracorporeal photopherisis

Apheresis, the simple process of drawing blood, becomes a powerful therapeutic in extracorporeal photopherisis (ECP) according to clinicians and scientists who met at the NIH State of the Science Symposium in Therapeutic Apheresis. Nora Ratcliffe, MD, of Dartmouth Hitchcock, looked at current methodology and opportunities for research in a paper recently published in Transfusion Medicine Review, titled "National Institutes of Health State of the Science Symposium in Therapeutic Apheresis: Scientific Opportunities in Extracorporeal Photopheresis."

14 Dec 2014

Stem cells from healthy eye could one day be used to repair scarred cornea

Treating the potentially blinding haze of a scar on the cornea might be as straightforward as growing stem cells from a tiny biopsy of the patient's undamaged eye and then placing them on the injury site, according to mouse model experiments conducted by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

11 Dec 2014

CUMC researchers devise way to replace torn knee meniscus

Columbia University Medical Center researchers have devised a way to replace the knee's protective lining, called the meniscus, using a personalized 3D-printed implant, or scaffold, infused with human growth factors that prompt the body to regenerate the lining on its own.

11 Dec 2014

Epizyme presents EPZ-5676 Phase 1 trial results for acute leukemia at ASH 2014

Epizyme, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company creating innovative personalized therapeutics for patients with genetically defined cancers, announced today the presentation of results from the company’s Phase 1 trial of EPZ-5676, a potent and selective inhibitor of the DOT1L histone methyltransferase (HMT).

10 Dec 2014

Cardiac monitoring foretells clinical deterioration in PAH

Monitoring right ventricular parameters can give advance warning of clinical deterioration in stable patients with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension, research suggests.

9 Dec 2014

Ponatinib ‘superior’ to sequential second-generation TKI treatment in CML

Patients with chronic myelogenous leukaemia resistant or intolerant to at least one second-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitor have a higher probability of achieving a response to the third-generation TKI ponatinib than to a further second-generation TKI, research indicates.

9 Dec 2014

Unheated high tunnels help bedding plants growers reduce energy costs

Energy costs account for one of the largest expenses in commercial greenhouse production of annual bedding plants. Naturally, bedding plant producers are searching for more energy-efficient production methods that can reduce fuel usage and increase profits. Christopher Currey, Roberto Lopez, and Neil Mattson published a study in HortTechnology that gives growers in northern latitudes valuable information on finishing practices for annual bedding plants.

9 Dec 2014

Kiadis Pharma reports positive interim data from ATIR Phase II clinical study

Kiadis Pharma B.V., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing T-cell immunotherapy treatments for blood cancers, today announces positive interim data from the ongoing Phase II clinical study with its lead product ATIR.

9 Dec 2014

Amgen announces new data from BLINCYTO Phase 2 study for treatment of patients with ALL

Amgen today announced that new data from a pivotal Phase 2 study evaluating BLINCYTO (blinatumomab) for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed/refractory B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) was presented at the 56th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition.

9 Dec 2014

Researchers report promising outcomes from clinical trial in patients with dyskeratosis congenita

Researchers at Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center report promising outcomes from a clinical trial with patients with a rare form of bone marrow failure who received a hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) after pre-treatment with immunosuppressive drugs only. This is the first trial reporting successful transplant in dyskeratosis congenita (DC) patients without the use of any radiation or conventional cytotoxic chemotherapy beforehand.

8 Dec 2014

Breakthrough therapy shows promise in resistant forms of Hodgkin lymphoma

A therapy that liberates the immune system to attack cancer cells drove Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) into complete or partial remission in fully 87 percent of patients with resistant forms of the disease who participated in an early-phase clinical trial, investigators at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and partnering institutions report in a study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine and simultaneously presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology in San Francisco.

7 Dec 2014

Pembrolizumab shows promising results in patients with classical Hodgkin Lymphoma

Merck, known as MSD outside of Canada and the United States, announced today early study findings demonstrating that patients treated with pembrolizumab, the company's investigational anti-PD-1 cancer therapy, achieved an overall response rate of 66 percent, as assessed by International Harmonization Project response criteria (n=19/29: 95% CI, 46-82).

7 Dec 2014

New treatment combinations improve outcomes for vulnerable patient with hard-to-treat disease

New treatment combinations and targeted therapies for lymphoma and multiple myeloma are improving outcomes for vulnerable patient populations with hard-to-treat disease, according to studies presented today at the 56th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition.

7 Dec 2014

Adding maintenance therapy after transplant can improve outcomes in Hodgkin lymphoma patients

In a late-stage clinical trial, Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) patients who received brentuximab vedotin (BV) post-transplant lived longer without disease progression than patients who received only supportive care. This is the first time a study has demonstrated that adding a maintenance therapy after transplant can improve outcomes.

7 Dec 2014

Novel treatments show safe responses in patients with relapsed, treatment-resistant blood cancers

Novel treatments that harness the body's own immune cells to attack cancer cells demonstrate safe and durable responses in patients with relapsed and treatment-resistant blood cancers, according to data presented today at the 56th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition.

7 Dec 2014

Most parents interested in newborn genomic testing, study reveals

A study published this week in Genetics in Medicine is the first to explore new parents' attitudes toward newborn genomic testing. The findings suggest that if newborn genomic testing becomes available, there would be robust interest among new parents, regardless of their demographic background.

5 Dec 2014

Scientists seek to improve stem cell transplant outcomes using DNA sequencing, mathematical modeling

Is the human immune system similar to the weather, a seemingly random yet dynamical system that can be modeled based on past conditions to predict future states? Scientists at VCU Massey Cancer Center's award-winning Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) Program believe it is, and they recently published several studies that support the possibility of using next-generation DNA sequencing and mathematical modeling to not only understand the variability observed in clinical outcomes of stem cell transplantation, but also to provide a theoretical framework to make transplantation a possibility for more patients who do not have a related donor.

5 Dec 2014

Joint therapy to counter HIV and HCV increases chance of success

A Spanish researcher has collaborated on a mathematical analysis, recently published in the journal 'Science Translational Medicine', which concludes that joint therapy to counter HIV in patients who also have hepatitis C increases the chance of success in the fight against both infections. Between eight and nine million people worldwide simultaneously suffer from AIDS and hepatitis C.

3 Dec 2014

BWH researchers identify cells responsible for fibrosis

Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital have identified what they believe to be the cells responsible for fibrosis, the buildup of scar tissue. Fibrotic diseases, such as chronic kidney disease and failure, lung disease, heart failure and cirrhosis of the liver, are estimated to be responsible for up to 45 percent of deaths in the developed world.

2 Dec 2014

New therapeutic targets can prevent scarring within transplanted kidneys

Kidneys donated by people born with a small variation in the code of a key gene may be more likely, once in the transplant recipient, to accumulate scar tissue that contributes to kidney failure, according to a study led by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and published today in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

2 Dec 2014